The world premiere musical version of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time officially opened at Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage June 26, and the reviews are in. Find out what critics are saying below. The musical features a book by Lauren Yee and music and lyrics by Heather Christian. Lee Sunday Evans is directing, with performances continuing through July 20.
Leading the cast are Nicholas Barrón (New York City Center’s Ragtime) as Calvin, Amber Gray (Hadestown) as Mrs. Whatsit, Taylor Iman Jones (SIX: The Musical) as Meg Murry, Vicki Lewis (Damn Yankees) as Mrs. Which, Mateo Lizcano (Kimberly Akimbo) as Charles Wallace, and Stacey Sargeant (for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf) as Mrs. Who.
The ensemble includes Leanne Antonio (The Lion King), Michael Di Liberto (Tammy Faye), Kimberly Dodson (Summer), Andrea Jones-Sojola (The Music Man), Aidan Joyce, Rebecca Madeira, Gabrielle Rice, Jon Patrick Walker (Hamilton), Ronald Joe Williams, and Jayke Workman (Chicago). Swings Alex De Bard, Edward Simon, Dillan James Smith, and Alyssa Enita Stanford round out the company. New York casting is by The Telsey Office's Rachel Hoffman, and D.C. casting is by Raiyon Hunter.
The story follows a young girl named Meg who travels space and time in search of her missing father. In a previous interview, Christian told Playbill that there will be "a choir of, like, 28 people" and singing planets. The project has been in development since at least 2022, and held a workshop presentation last year. The Arena run is produced by special arrangement with Plate Spinner Productions, Diana DiMenna, Aaron Glick, and Charlotte Jones Voiklis.
Read the reviews below.
BroadwayWorld (Rachael F. Goldberg)
MD Theatre Guide (Peter Orvetti)
The New York Times (Jesse Green)*
The Washington Post (Naveen Kumar)*
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Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
The production features choreography by Ani Taj (Dead Outlaw), music direction by Ben Moss (Head Over Heels), set design by dots (Appropriate), costume design by Sarafina Bush (for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf), lighting design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew (Kimberly Akimbo), sound design by Nick Kourtides (Magic Mike Live), puppet design and puppetry by James Ortiz (Into the Woods), wig and hair design by Alberto "Albee" Alvarado (The Outsiders), and makeup design by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche (The Wiz).
Joanne Pan is stage manager, with assistant stage managers Dayne Sundman and Cheyney Coles. Timothy R. Semon is production supervisor.
Visit ArenaStage.org.
Taylor Iman Jones and Jon Patrick Walker in A Wrinkle in Time
Company of A Wrinkle in Time
Company of A Wrinkle in Time
Amber Gray, Stacey Sargeant, and Vicki Lewis in A Wrinkle in Time
Company of A Wrinkle in Time
